Christmas Dresses

Happy New Year! Before the holidays get too far away from us, I thought I better post my creations for Christmas this year. The story on these dresses is kind of funny. I was in Joann Fabrics and came across this lovely fabric. It has a black lace effect over a nude base with some gold and silver shimmer to it. I end up buying 3.5 yards, imagining I would make it into some sort of party dress for the holiday season. 

We can't take a picture together where we both look normal. I must opt for the ones I look decent in- you understand. 

I got home, washed it, and hung it up to dry. Along comes my 3 year old daughter. As soon as she lays eyes on the fabric, she gasps and exclaims "Mama, I need a dwess (spelling intended)". Being the selfish mama that I am, I hadn't exactly planned on sewing her one as well. But I couldn't disappoint. I scoured my pattern collection for a mama and daughter duo that would fit into the allotted fabric length I purchased. 

For her, I used New Look 6205. I made view A. Her dress went together very quickly. I added some black ribbon to the waistline for a little something special. She wears a 3T in RTW, I ended up going with a size 4 on the pattern- glad I did because it fits her perfectly. I think a 3 would have been too small. 

For my dress, I ended up going with my tried and true Colette Laurel pattern. I've made it twice before- my first (and favorite) rendition is here. It's a basic shift dress that doesn't require a lot of yardage- perfect for my mission to squeeze two garments out of what I got from Joann's. I didn't make any changes except for adding a couple inches of length. 

I am very happy with the way the two dresses turned out. We wore these together for Christmas Eve. We got lots of compliments. I had spent $35 on the fabric- not bad for 2 "fancy" dresses! 

Posing with big brother!

No end of the year wrap up for me. If I posted my top 5 makes, it would be my only 5 makes!! I had made more, but I have a hard time getting all my makes posted. Maybe I can work on posting more frequently this year...

~Jenny 

A Galaxy Far, Far Away...

Best Halloween ever!! And probably the last one that I will ever make costumes for the entire family!! In reality, by the time next year rolls around, I will have forgotten the horrors of making four unique costumes in about a week's time (what can I say? I procrastinate), and will do it all over again. 

Let's start with the cute ones, shall we? 

Princess Leia was the easiest to make, hand's down. The white dress is a Little Girl's Skater Dress from Kitschy-Coo patterns. I used a white ponte knit. I lengthened the pattern by a couple of inches. It came together quickly and easily. For her belt, I used a silver metallic cotton blend and simply made a tube belt and glued some squares I made on top. Done! 

For Master Yoda, I used New Look 6170, a pajama pattern for the pants a shirt. These were made of a brown flannel. For the cape, I used Simplicity 1037. I made the cape using a linen blend fabric. I shortened the sleeves a bit. Not too bad so far. Bonus- the kid loves to wear the pajamas as pajamas!

Next, on to the adults. 

Kylo Ren, my husband! I used McCall's 7422 for this monstrosity. Actually, it really wasn't too bad to sew, but is a big fabric eater. There is a lined coat and lined surcoat. Accessories include the faux leather belt and the hood. I either was not paying well enough attention to the instructions, or the instructions were wrong in a few places. If I attached the lining as directed, I would not be able to turn inside out. I sort of did my own thing. The hood is made of linen. The coat is gabardine and lining. The surcoat is broadcloth and lining fabric. 

And finally, our heroine- Ray. I used McCall's 7421. This included a shirt, pants, tabard, gauntlets, and a belt. What the heck is a tabard or a gauntlet? This one was not difficult to sew but tedious. I found the instructions to be fine on this one. The shirt and gauntlets are made from an off-white jersey. Pants are a brown ponte. Tabard is tan gauze. Belt is faux leather. 

I cut corners where I could. If you allow yourself one week to make four costumes, you got to do what you got to do. I avoided hems where possible- particularly on my tabard- none of the edges are finished. 

And there you have it. We really did have a great Halloween this year and enjoyed showing off our group costumes. This was not the most economical proposition. In fact,we probably would have been better off in that regard buying the costumes from the store. We were close to the $200 mark for all four costumes. But mine have a little more detail and love (and anger, aggravation, annoyance, anxiety) poured in. 

~Jenny

Mini-Me's

 

 

I had enough fabric left over from each of my Renfrews to make my kids their own tees too.

 

 

 

Logan's tee is made using the Vintage V-neck pattern from Blank Slate Patterns. These are pdf patterns for boys and girls. There aren't a lot of cool little boy patterns available buy Blank Slate has a good selection. I made a 4T based on his measurements. There isn't a lot of room for growth so I will go up a size the next time.

 

 

 

Next up is the baby's tee. She just turned 1 year old and is about 20 pounds. I used Simplicity 1566. This is a good pattern for basic separates- tops, pants, jackets, vest, and jumper. I made a size large (18 months). Again, there's not a ton of room for growing. This was also super easy. The most time consuming (and annoying) part was hand sewing snaps on each shoulder seam. These are necessary though so that the top can fit over baby's head.

 

Both tees came together quickly and they were a great way to use up the leftover fabric.

 

~Jenny

Easter Ginger

Yep, I've turned into one of those moms. You know- the kind who match their outfits with their daughter's. At least it's only on special occasions.

For myself, I made the Colette Ginger skirt. This is a great pattern for a basic, A-line skirt. It went together super quickly. I like the high waist style. It is flattering and has a bit of a vintage vibe.

I used a cotton stretch sateen print from Gorgeous Fabrics. It's been in my stash for a while until I could figure out what to do with it. I originally intended on making a dress with it. I love the colors and large floral print. However, I thought it would be a bit overwhelming on me as a dress so I opted for a skirt. I think it turned out nicely.

One word of caution. I fell in-between sizes on the size chart so I opted for the larger of the two. I still had to let out the waist seam allowances by 1/4 inch on each side- 1 inch all the way around.

I am really happy with this skirt and received lots of compliments the first time I wore it. This is another one I could see making up in several prints for lots of options.

For the baby, I used Simplicity 3854 to make her dress from the same fabric. For such a little dress it was actually quite fussy! The instructions would have you finish the neckline and sleeves with bias tape. Despite the bias, I couldn't get the tape to stretch enough to lay flat after stitching. So after fighting with it, I ended up cutting a lining for the bodice and finishing it that way. I then preceded to sew the lining in incorrectly and having to rip it out- at least that one was my fault.

In the end, it did come out really cute. I love the poofy skirt! And, I made her the matching headband!

 

 ~Jenny

 

 

Sunday Sweetie

This dress is the first thing I've made my daughter. It was one of her Christmas presents but she didn't quite fit until this last week.

 

 



Simplicity 1701

 

 

I used a quilting cotton from Fabric.com. Now I'm in agreement with most of you- quilting cotton should not be used for garments. But it's a baby so I got over it! I trimmed the dress with some lace that I had in my stash. I was initially going to make the organza overlay. However, the cheap synthetic organza I got was not behaving and the dress looked better without it so I omitted it.

 

 

 

I converted the zipper closure to a button band instead. For someone who spends much of the day sleeping and rolling around on the ground, a zipper just didn't seem too comfortable. I couldn't find much info on converting to a zipper closure out there so I did my own thing. If any of you are interested, let me know and I will do a tutorial in the future.

 

 

 

My daughter is a little over 3 months now. I'm not sure how much she is weighing these days. I made the size small for 13-18 lbs and it seems to fit her well with a little room to grow. It's long on her- almost to her ankles but looks like that what the style is meant to be.

 

 

 

This was a quick and easy dress to make. The bodice is lined which gives it a nice finish. I may use the pattern for another view in the future.

 

~Jenny

Kiddie Parade

First off, here is our latest bundle of joy, Parker Michelle.

 

She was born on October 12, about 3 weeks early. She weighed in at 6 pounds, 5 ounces and was 19 1/2inches long.

 

 

 

Mommy and the rest of the family are doing well. My old routine of sewing when my eldest goes to sleep has been derailed by our newest addition. By the time they both go to sleep, Mommy is ready to pass out too! I'm hoping to get back in the swing of things as sleeping habits get better.

 

 

 

I was able to complete the majority of Logan's Halloween costume before Parker was born.  He was a cowboy this year.

 

I used McCalls 2851 for his vest and chaps. Both were insanely easy! I purchased both fabrics from Joann Fabrics, from their costume fabric section.

 

Prepster Pullover

 

I also made the chambray shirt under the vest using a PDF pattern from Blank Slate Patterns. First off, I've neglected sewing for my son mostly because the sewing pattern industry is geared toward little girls in the kiddie department. I was excited to stumble upon Blank Slate Patterns. They have a large selection of little boy patterns that are actually very cool! Secondly, this is my first experience with a downloaded pattern. It really wasn't all of the horrible things that I've read it could be! The printed pattern was taped together quickly and easily. I traced off Logan's size and the rest was cake! I recommend Blank Slate Patterns also for the instructions. The instructions literally take you step by step and are fully illustrated with photos.

 

 

That's all for now. I'm currently working on a lined jacket for myself. More to come soon!

 

~Jenny